Tom Niinimaki vs.
Niklas Backstrom
Two full careers, measured against each man's own division and against each other — the tape, the read, and every number behind them.
The men, measured.
Frame, age, layoff and recent form — green marks the edge on each line.
What the numbers say.
Scouting notes, auto-generated — only stats deviating more than 25% from the division median make this list. No narratives, just deviations.
Who did they actually beat?
Full-career records re-graded by the tier of opposition — the same grading the Contender Series pick model uses. Records built on tier-4 competition are worth less than records built on killers.
Tom Niinimaki
Full career not yet synced for Tom Niinimaki — tier grading appears once their record documentation lands (refreshes weekly).
In the UFC: 1-0 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +0.5 wins over .500
Niklas Backstrom
Full career not yet synced for Niklas Backstrom — tier grading appears once their record documentation lands (refreshes weekly).
In the UFC: 1-0 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +0.3 wins over .500
The stand-up battle.
Career totals; norms are the medians of each man's own division.
Significant strikes — landed & absorbed
Where the fight happens (share of sig. strike attempts)
Tom Niinimaki
Distance 76.4% (norm 85.7%) · Clinch 5.7% (norm 6.1%) · Ground 17.9% (norm 6.5%)
Niklas Backstrom
Distance 76.4% (norm 85.7%) · Clinch 16.4% (norm 6.1%) · Ground 7.3% (norm 6.5%)
What they throw (share of sig. strike attempts by target)
Tom Niinimaki
Head 56.6% (norm 77.4%) · Body 18.9% (norm 12.9%) · Legs 24.5% (norm 7.8%)
Niklas Backstrom
Head 65.5% (norm 77.4%) · Body 25.5% (norm 12.9%) · Legs 9.1% (norm 7.8%)
Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone
Green ≥ division median, red below. UFCStats tracks position and target as separate splits.
| Zone | Niinimaki L/A | Acc | Featherweight med | Backstrom L/A | Acc | Featherweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 39 / 81 | 48.1% | 40.9% | 15 / 42 | 35.7% | 40.9% |
| In the clinch | 5 / 6 | too few to rate | 70.8% | 6 / 9 | too few to rate | 70.8% |
| On the ground | 14 / 19 | too few to rate | 69.2% | 2 / 4 | too few to rate | 69.2% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 19 / 60 | 31.7% | 37.2% | 12 / 36 | 33.3% | 37.2% |
| To the body | 17 / 20 | too few to rate | 68.2% | 6 / 14 | too few to rate | 68.2% |
| To the legs | 22 / 26 | 84.6% | 80.7% | 5 / 5 | too few to rate | 80.7% |
Zones with fewer than 25 attempts are marked "too few to rate". Each fighter is measured against the median of leaderboard-eligible fighters in his own division (Featherweight: 126 fighters · Featherweight: 126 fighters).
What lands on them Opponents' accuracy against each man
Green ≤ division median — harder to hit than the typical man in his division.
| Zone | vs Niinimaki L/A | Opp acc | Featherweight med | vs Backstrom L/A | Opp acc | Featherweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 55 / 145 | 37.9% | 39.2% | 24 / 56 | 42.9% | 39.2% |
| In the clinch | 6 / 10 | too few to rate | 70.3% | 28 / 37 | 75.7% | 70.3% |
| On the ground | 9 / 12 | too few to rate | 69.4% | 23 / 33 | 69.7% | 69.4% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 50 / 142 | 35.2% | 35.9% | 57 / 102 | 55.9% | 35.9% |
| To the body | 5 / 10 | too few to rate | 67.9% | 12 / 17 | too few to rate | 67.9% |
| To the legs | 15 / 15 | too few to rate | 81.5% | 6 / 7 | too few to rate | 81.5% |
The ground war.
Takedowns, control and submissions — career totals with each man's per-minute rates against his division norm.
Bars compare the two men's rates (per-minute / per-15 figures), not raw totals — Niinimaki has more cage time on record.